Duane Thomas
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Thomas playing for the Cowboys in Super Bowl VI
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| No. 33, 47 | |||||||||||||
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| Position: | Running back | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth: | June 21, 1947 | ||||||||||||
| Place of birth: | Dallas, Texas | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 220 lb (100 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Dallas (TX) Lincoln | ||||||||||||
| College: | West Texas State | ||||||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1970 / Round: 1 / Pick: 23 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||||||
| Rushing yards: | 2,038 |
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| Rush attempts: | 453 |
| Rushing TDs: | 21 |
| Receiving yards: | 297 |
| Receptions: | 38 |
| Player stats at NFL.com | |
Duane Julius Thomas (born June 21, 1947) is a former American football running back in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins. He played college football at West Texas State University.
Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Thomas was an exceptional running back at its Lincoln High School in the mid-1960s. He continued his success at West Texas State University in Canyon, playing fullback alongside Mercury Morris, while running through defenses for Joe Kerbel's teams. After a freshman year with just 10 carries for 42 yards, he led the country with 7.2 yards per carry on still-limited duty his sophomore season (83 carries for 596 yards). After 113 carries for 708 yards his junior year, he broke through his senior year with 199 carries for 1,072 yards and 10 touchdowns his senior year. He ended his college career with 396 carries for 2,376 yards (then 2nd all-time to Bill Cross, currently 8th).
In 1970 he played in the Coaches All-America Game.
Thomas was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the first round (23rd overall) of the 1970 NFL draft. As a rookie, even though he didn't start until the fifth game of the season, he led the team in rushing, while finishing eighth in the newly merged 26-team league with 803 rushing yards (second in the National Football Conference behind NFL rushing champion Larry Brown of the rival Washington Redskins) on 151 carries (a league-leading 5.3 yards per carry) and 5 touchdowns. At the end of the season, already being compared to Jim Brown, he was named the NFL rookie of the year. In playoff wins over Detroit and San Francisco, Thomas rushed for 135 and 143 yards, becoming the first rookie with two 100-yard rushing playoff games.
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